The example in which Temel -- a famous Turkish fictional character from the Black Sea region who is the subject of countless jokes -- bet on a horse in a movie that he was seeing for the second time and defended himself, saying this horse might have won this time around is not an absurd one. We either forget the near past or naively hope that the result will change. From this perspective, I strongly believe that the Turgut Özal years should be analyzed properly; this would greatly contribute to our understanding of today's developments. It is with this observation that I approach, "Turgut Özal (the eighth president)," a documentary that appears on the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) station TRT 2 on Thursday nights. I now better understand the notions that Özal used. He frequently mentioned "transformation," using the difficult word to motivate people for an upcoming age. What he was trying to do was not change, but gradually fix problems or improve the country's situation. Maybe reform would have corresponded to his goal, but he preferred transformation. Özal also wanted to adapt to the coming age and frequently spoke of this. To achieve this, great transformations were needed. What he accomplished in the economy was measurable; for this reason, these achievements gained publicity. While he was in office, a transition was made to a free market economy and the economy's priorities and agenda were changed. Instead of working on outdated goals like heavy industry, he set new goals to ensure integration with information technology. Photos of him standing in front of large screen computers were indicative of his vision and goals. Business practices of capital monopolies, which used to do business in reliance on the state apparatus, were redesigned. Diversification of capital was the major dynamic for the transformation. He knew that competing with the world's holders of capital was only possible through internal competition.
In addition to economic progress, Özal also tried to redefine the relationship between the individual and the state. His understanding of this included emphasizing three major components: freedom of entrepreneurship, freedom of thought and freedom of religion. Strengthening the individual vis-à-vis the state was only possible with a strong emphasis on these freedoms and liberties. Özal also made a symbolic, yet influential, move to show that the civilian power holds the final word in a democratic country. He appointed Gen. Necip Torumtay as chief of General Staff instead of Gen. Necdet Öztorun, who held extensive authority in military circles. Özal reclassified politics. This might be seen as the natural outcome of bans stemming from the Sept. 12, 1980 coup. But this does not mean that his efforts and actions were not important or revolutionary. While he expressed his regret over some names like former Prime Minister Mesut Yılmaz, the figures who became involved in politics upon his encouragement constituted one part of political transformation in Turkey.
We are at the crossroads: adapting to the modern age or being subjected to darkness. The world is marching in the direction of freer individuals and more prominent and influential civil society organizations. Özal made Turkey embrace the era, relying on an accurate choice. The actual goal of the current prohibitive approach is to ensure that a straightforward path is destroyed.
We are currently dealing with insignificant things -- things like a strong lock on a wide-open door. We have banned access to YouTube with a court decision and have become a country that is mention in the same sentence as China and Iran, but even elementary school students can evade the ban and access the site.
Law takes into consideration the notion of impossibility. In other words, making laws that cannot be implemented can result in humiliation. Some have worked hard to prohibit pro-Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) TV stations for years, but have been unsuccessful. We came to the conclusion that we have to have a Kurdish TV station when we realized that we had no other option. I hope that it's not too late. A party that relied on its constitutional right is about to be closed down because it tried to lift a ban on wearing headscarves at universities. Some make fun of a TV commercial that depicts the mothers of the national soccer team's players, asking whether these players would also wear a headscarf.
The strength of change and technology make prohibition impossible and I am saddened by all the time we have wasted.
